Another Sort of Diversity on the Farm

When we talk about diversity on this blog, you might normally expect a blog post like some of our Pollinator Paradise series of posts.  After all, we do believe that diversity of life on our farm is one of the things that keeps it healthy and productive.  But, what about our lives?  Isn't it true that some diversity in our everyday existence is also going to help us to be healthier and happier?

The short answer is - we think so.  And, we confirmed that when Tammy and I took a day that we called our "GFF Retreat" and took a hard look at the farm and how our lives are intertwined with it.   One of our concerns was to look to our own health - because if we fail in this, our farm fails as well.

As we gear up for the 2019 growing season and we start to encourage people to sign up for our CSA program, we thought it might be useful to share some of the range of interests we have in our lives.  By doing so, we are hopeful that our supporters, customers, potential customers and other interested by-standers can make meaningful connections with us.

This blogpost has been Inspector approved.

We Are Stewards
Both Tammy and I are stewards in many senses of the word.  Those of you who know us for the Genuine Faux Farm might recognize us for our desire to be responsible stewards of the land as we farm.  The idea of maintaining a pollinator paradise, using organic practices and maintaining a smaller scale farm that sells locally is all a part of that stewardship.

Perhaps it would not surprise you that we are stewards in other ways in our lives as well.  We are also stewards of knowledge and facilitators of learning.  Tammy is a professor of Social Work who is dedicated to advancing her field by helping future professionals hone their skills and shape their ethic as it pertains to their field.  As farmers, both of us perform on-farm research tasks and work to share our knowledge and expertise with others.  Rob is periodically called on to speak about sustainable farming practices at local schools - and he takes that responsibility seriously because he believes there needs to be more voices in that arena.

And, we are stewards of the community.  While neither of us is an extrovert, we still feel a responsibility towards doing our best to make things around us better as we are able.  We just tend to run "under the radar" more often than not.

An appropriate game for farmers?

We Like to Play
We both enjoy some sports, such as volleyball and baseball.  We do our best to make time to play board games on a semi-frequent basis.  We like to play with words and with absurd or silly ideas.  Sometimes, those things show up in our blog posts - even if it is a bit indirect.  Ok, maybe that one is a bit more direct than others.  But, we do still like to play.

One of the goals we set for ourselves was to make more time for play.  But, perhaps it might be better if we used play as a measurement.  Are we more inclined to play if we're feeling better about ourselves?  Or, will playing help us to feel better about ourselves?  This may be a 'chicken or egg' thing.  What do you think?

It probably doesn't matter what the answer to those questions are.  What matters is that we find it in our spirit to play and be playful and that we make time to allow that part of ourselves to be explored.


We Appreciate Creativity
Both of us appreciate music of all sorts and we both enjoy books - but usually different genres.  We like a little bit of photography and can be captivated by all sorts of displays of artistic talent.  Perhaps the one thing that grabs our attention the most is the beauty and power of the natural world.  Sometimes, we don't appreciate it so much when that power reminds us that nothing is under our control.  But, often we just stop and admire because it would be silly not to.  And yes, we both love flowers.

Tammy has said more than once that I am the creative one and that she is not so creative.  It is true that I like to write (witness this blog) and I like to take photographs and I like to research and display postal history items.  I also like to make playlists of music that we listen to and I suspect I do other things that might be classified as 'creative.'  But, Tammy sells herself short in this area.  She can write and be creative in some of the same ways I can.  But, she is most creative when it comes to making connections between people and segments of the community.  And, whether she always sees it or not, ideas she communicates to me often appear here... or at the farm... or in a photograph.

Engaging in Activity Diversity for our Health
This is what it comes down to.  We both like a little diversity in what we do.  When we don't get it, we find ourselves all too willing to perhaps indulge in one activity for longer than we should at times when we really shouldn't.  That often results in paying the piper by falling behind in work-related things, which makes us resent work, which leads to another binge at a time when a binge isn't a good idea.

Will we succeed in supporting diversity in our daily activities?  I bet we will succeed sometimes, because it is on our minds.  And I am certain we will fail at other times, because that's what happens with occupations such as teaching at a college or running a small farm. Nonetheless, we will try - because it is the right thing to do.